Author Archives: tjwithersauthor

Treasure | Youth Group Devotions by TJ Talk

Posted in Teaching tips, Words of Faith by

A youth group or kids club devotion for ages 5 to 15 on treasure

So tonight was all about pirates and what’s one thing pirates love more than anything else? What do you think?

[discussion]

Those are all great answers, and the one I want to talk about tonight is treasure – pirates love treasure!

Do you have anything in life that you would call your “treasure”? Your most precious things?

[discussion]

God actually talks about treasure in the Bible in a bunch of different places, and the first one I’m going to talk about tonight is Matthew 13, where Jesus says that God’s world, the kingdom of heaven, is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man finds that treasure, he sells everything he owns so that he has enough money to buy the field that contains the treasure – because he knows that treasure is so precious, it’s worth more than everything he owns.

If we think about this story for a second, Jesus is saying that God’s world – a world where people worship God, where people live sustainably and they live in harmony with nature, a world where people actually love each other and don’t hurt each other, a world where everyone has enough to eat – that world is so precious that it’s worth more than everything you own.

God’s world – a world where people worship God, where people live sustainably and they live in harmony with nature, a world where people actually love each other and don’t hurt each other, a world where everyone has enough to eat – that world is worth more than anything you could own

Then in Luke 12, Jesus literally tells his disciples, sell the things you own and give money to the poor. That way, you will earn a treasure in heaven that doesn’t disappear or break, and one that no thief could steal, and no bugs could eat it up. Basically it’s a reminder of what we were talking about a few weeks ago – that everything in life is temporary except for God. So if you make God your treasure, if you love God more than you love new clothes or music or money, and you use the things you have to help other people, not just yourself, then you won’t be disappointed when your “things” don’t last – because God does last.

God will always love you, no matter what else is happening in your life.

Let’s pray. God, please help us to love you more than we love anything else. Help us to have a great week and to help other people to have a great week, too. Amen.

Top 13 Best DIY Baby Sensory Toys

Posted in Creativity by

Babies don’t need much to enjoy playing with you, and their favourite toys are not what you might expect (if you don’t yet have kids yourself).

For a baby’s first few months, all you really need is things that stimulate your baby’s senses – sensory toys – and the great thing is that almost all of these can be DIY things you make yourself, or items you already have around home.

So I’ve compiled a list of the top 13 baby sensory toys you can DIY or raid your cupboards for! (It was meant to be 10 but there are just too many good ones!)

Some of the photos below show my daughter, Zoe, so please be sensitive which images you use when sharing this post. Thanks!

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Trying New Things: I Made A YouTube Channel

Posted in Book Reviews, Creativity, Words of Faith by

I R vlogger now yayyyy

I am doing #nanowrimo again this year (National Novel Writing Month, write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November) and I am surprised to find that it is inspiring my creativity in other areas, as well!

So as the title of this post says, I finally started uploading videos to my YouTube channel! Check out my channel here and subscribe if you like what you see.

I am posting short blog-style encouragements from my day about how God is growing me, what he is teaching me, and how you can apply it to your own life.

Here’s a taster – my channel trailer:

Subscribe to my TJ Withers-Ryan YouTube channel to see my video updates as they come. 🙂

Bless you –

TJ

How do I know if it’s God’s will? Sticking to your beliefs in work and creativity

Posted in Creativity, Words of Faith by

Can we know the will of God when making decisions? How do I know if I’m doing God’s will? How do I know if my feet are on the right path for God’s plan for me? How can I honour God with my work? How can I honour God in my writing or my art?

I was asked this recently by a friend and I’m going to answer it here as well because I think this question fundamentally affects our decisions when we’re living out our faith.

I went to the Planetarium recently and re-discovered that we are all just specks in this giant universe – no, less than specks. We cannot be seen from the moon. Our planet cannot be seen from outside the Milky Way.

We are miniscule – but God loves each of us as individuals, and Jeremiah 29:11 says God has a great plan for our lives. I can’t claim to know the will of God. But here’s what I think about when I’m trying to live out God’s will in both my paid work and my creative projects.

My feet at the labyrinth in Sydney Centennial Park.

About to start the labyrinth in Sydney Centennial Park. Image source: My camera.

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Best books and media I’ve found in 2016 so far

Posted in Book Reviews, Seasonal Posts by

We’re only a few days into 2016 but I have found some AMAZING reads in my first days of 2016, which have also been my last few days of annual leave.

As a writer and editor, my “to read” list is too long for me to ever actually read, if it’s really true that you can only get through about 3,000 in the average lifetime. In my Google Docs “Books” folder, the list of all the books I’ve read in my life (only about 600 that I can remember so far) is far smaller than the list of books I would like to read (about 1 million). So I’ve told you how I chose the books I read last year, and I can definitely say I’m sticking with that strategy in 2016.

If you don’t know what to get yourself in the Boxing Day sales, and you have money left over after purchasing some truly meaningful gifts from Gifts of Compassion, TEAR’s Useful Gifts, Christian Blind Mission’s Meaningful Gifts, or some other world-changing charity … then please consider the following reads for belated Christmas gifts to yourself.

Get ready.

They’ll knock your socks off.

…

Best books made of paper and stuff in January 2016

My January 2016 reads lined up. Image source: My camera.

My January 2016 reads lined up. Image source: My camera.

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How I chose which books to read in 2015

Posted in Book Reviews, Seasonal Posts, Words of Faith by

The long road to Fort Scratchley lighthouse at Nobby's Beach, Newcastle. Image source: My camera.

The long road to Fort Scratchley lighthouse at Nobby’s Beach, Newcastle. Image source: My camera.

The end of the year is a great time for reflecting on our habits from the year and how they changed us as a person. Here is just one snippet from my reflections on my habits in 2015: How I chose which books to read during the year.

It’s an important topic. The books you read are part of the inspiration you get, and that shapes who you become as a person over the course of a year. We’re always changing, and the input we choose for our hearts and minds is a huge part of that.

What does the Bible say about the input you should give your heart and mind?

Proverbs 4:23: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of your life and everything you do flows from it.”

Philippians 4:8: “Finally, brothers and sisters, think about whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable. If anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about those things.”

(author’s paraphrase)

So in short, in 2015, I let God choose.

While standing at the shelves of my favourite bookshops or poring over new releases on my favourite online bookshops, or even leaning against my own bookshelves and wondering what to read next, I asked the Holy Spirit. I asked that God would reveal what book would help me the most in this season, or what book would give me encouragement, give me a laugh, show me afresh His power, or give me the key to spreading His power to others with my life.

Here’s my list of books read, how the let-God-pick method went, and the themes that emerged in what I read…

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Review of Star Wars Episode VII from a literary standpoint (spoiler alert)

Posted in Book Reviews by

***Contains some spoilers. Watch the movie first.***

I’ve spent a while waiting for the rest of Australia to get to the cinemas and see Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens for nearly a week now, since the midnight screening that my engineer husband took me to while I yawned my head off. Post-Boxing Day, I figure enough people have seen it – and enough spoilers have already been posted all over the internet in reviews and Facebook posts. Here’s what I thought of Episode VII, from a strictly literary standpoint.

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Anne of Green Gables’ 141st birthday party – and you’re all invited!

Posted in Book Reviews, Seasonal Posts by

The Google Doodle designed by Olivia Huynh for the 141st birthday of Lucy Maud Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables and Emily of New Moon, are just too beautiful not to share – so enjoy! I’ve posted what I could below in case you can’t get online today to check them out.

Anne of Green Gables 1

 

Anne of Green Gables 2

 

Anne of Green Gables 3

Vote on your favourite blog rebrand ideas

Posted in Creativity, Seasonal Posts by

I’ve identified the major themes that I’d like to write about in the future, so I made a survey so you can vote on your favourites among these blog ideas!

It is here: Survey Monkey TJ Withers-Ryan

I can’t say the survey results will make my decision for me re blogging, but I would 100% appreciate reader feedback on what you are most interested in reading about.

God bless,

TJ

Image source: TJ Ryan photo, icanhascheezburger lolcat builder

Image source: TJ Ryan photo, icanhascheezburger lolcat builder